Always a crowd favorite! Big and bold black fruit forward flavor profile but with a Howell Mtn structure and backbone to support it. Already drinking great now. This was a PnP, no decant.
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Double blind. Inky opaque color. Brown sugar, mocha, eucalyptus and pepper underneath the blue and black fruit notes. Full-bodied with medium tannins and flavors of cassis, blackberry, barrel spice and chocolate. Lengthy finish. Guessed 2016 Napa cab sauv, but would not have guessed that this was mountain fruit.
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Deep, dark reddish-purple in color; almost opaque. Full, forward & fragrant nose of dark fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of earthy/dusty & herb notes, minerals, spices, dark cocoa notes, sandalwood & a hint of vanilla/oak in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of still developing, well balanced & smooth textured, rich, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with spices, cocoa, herbs, minerals & vanilla/oak. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but will develop further and benefit from additional aging.
Three hour double decant. Very deep dark magenta. Maraschino cherry, Gala apple, menthol, orange rind, and dill on the somewhat diminutive nose. Smooth and very dry palate, with good acidity. Firm, grippy tannins on the longish finish.
This is drinking young and needs more cellar time and/or air. It’s got good structure and typical red fruit of the poor vintage. Could improve a point or two in the coming year, but I don’t see this getting dramatically better.
decanted 3 hours, purple and inky in color, nose leads in with pencil lead, cherry and mountain flowers, big and opulent with plenty of pent up flavors of dark berries, cedar, tobacco, chocolate and mint, intense and deep, backed with sturdy acid, oozing with delicious cabernet sauce, this is a decant now or hold a while wine, and it was perfect with dry-aged ribeye steak
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Had at a restaurant. Open for most of an hour. It was very good and consistent with past vintages. It was also a crowd pleaser. However, I wish I had opened this bottle at home and decanted for a couple of hours. It is very enjoyable now, but needs the air to get it to its maximum current experience.
Drank this with a nice big ribeye for Christmas dinner, which is the way to go with this wine right now. Black and blue fruit, but not a fruit bomb, good acidity and nice tannins. If drinking by itself give this another 3-5 years otherwise definitely pair this with food after a 2-3 hour decant. A very nice wine.
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Not ready at this time. Very good in the spirit of O'Shaughnessy. Hold onto it as they won't have a 2018 vintage bc of fires I believe. I had 1 Mt Veeder and 2 Howell Mountain. I will store the rest for a bit.
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Napa trip November 2020; 10/31/2020-11/14/2020 (Napa, CA): Love so many vintages of this wine but the 2017 isn’t showing in the same way that I would expect. It’s more austere than typical. Drinking at the winery after about a 1.5 hour decant.
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One hour decant and can probably use more but I’m ready for it! Deep blackberry purple in color. Big nose of sandalwood, blackberries, blueberries and cocoa. Taste is similar with with a nice punch on the entry with a dusty Rutherfordesque tannic finish. Medium acidity. Full body. Really drinking well for a young wine. Remains one of my favorite wineries. About 93.
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12/22/2023 - nicole_valencic@yahoo.com wrote:
Jeff at Poggio in Sausalito for our Christmas dinner
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12/3/2023 - marshalc Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still a baby. I’d hold off another couple of years
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10/12/2023 - Francophile1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Always a crowd favorite! Big and bold black fruit forward flavor profile but with a Howell Mtn structure and backbone to support it. Already drinking great now. This was a PnP, no decant.
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9/6/2023 - AllRed wrote: 93 Points
Double blind. Inky opaque color. Brown sugar, mocha, eucalyptus and pepper underneath the blue and black fruit notes. Full-bodied with medium tannins and flavors of cassis, blackberry, barrel spice and chocolate. Lengthy finish. Guessed 2016 Napa cab sauv, but would not have guessed that this was mountain fruit.
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2/19/2023 - pvewino Likes this wine: 92 Points
This one is still too young. Give it some more time. If drinking now, be sure to allow for at least two hours for it to open up.
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4/22/2022 - jimmythesaint wrote:
Too young and disjointed. Wait another 5 years
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1/30/2022 - wineotim Likes this wine: 93 Points
Not much to report on the nose of this wine. Decent tension and density of mountain fruit. Good grip finish, smooth, with some creme de cassis notes.
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1/14/2022 - Otaku Oenophile Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drank over 3 days.
First 2 days this was closed down hard.
3rd day it had that gravel, flowers and elegance.
Reminds me of Lail Daniel's Cuvee at a more affordable price.
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1/5/2022 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep, dark reddish-purple in color; almost opaque. Full, forward & fragrant nose of dark fruit aromas of cherries, blackberries & cassis with overtones of earthy/dusty & herb notes, minerals, spices, dark cocoa notes, sandalwood & a hint of vanilla/oak in the background. Full bodied with a very good concentration of still developing, well balanced & smooth textured, rich, ripe dark fruit flavors of cherries, blackberries & plums with spices, cocoa, herbs, minerals & vanilla/oak. Lingering finish. Drinks quite well at present with decanting & extended airing but will develop further and benefit from additional aging.
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11/5/2021 - Carl W. Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great - just let it open an hour or so.
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10/30/2021 - AGELVIS Likes this wine: 91 Points
Three hour double decant. Very deep dark magenta. Maraschino cherry, Gala apple, menthol, orange rind, and dill on the somewhat diminutive nose. Smooth and very dry palate, with good acidity. Firm, grippy tannins on the longish finish.
This is drinking young and needs more cellar time and/or air. It’s got good structure and typical red fruit of the poor vintage. Could improve a point or two in the coming year, but I don’t see this getting dramatically better.
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6/18/2021 - Cablover1982 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Incredible mountain wine. Focused black fruits, minerality, sweet mtn soil, medium acidity, layered. Nice finish. Cheers
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6/4/2021 - whits Likes this wine: 94 Points
decanted 3 hours, purple and inky in color, nose leads in with pencil lead, cherry and mountain flowers, big and opulent with plenty of pent up flavors of dark berries, cedar, tobacco, chocolate and mint, intense and deep, backed with sturdy acid, oozing with delicious cabernet sauce, this is a decant now or hold a while wine, and it was perfect with dry-aged ribeye steak
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4/7/2021 - WineGuyFL Likes this wine: 93 Points
Had at a restaurant. Open for most of an hour. It was very good and consistent with past vintages. It was also a crowd pleaser. However, I wish I had opened this bottle at home and decanted for a couple of hours. It is very enjoyable now, but needs the air to get it to its maximum current experience.
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12/25/2020 - boozebythecreek Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank this with a nice big ribeye for Christmas dinner, which is the way to go with this wine right now. Black and blue fruit, but not a fruit bomb, good acidity and nice tannins. If drinking by itself give this another 3-5 years otherwise definitely pair this with food after a 2-3 hour decant. A very nice wine.
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11/28/2020 - dbenglis Likes this wine: 91 Points
Not ready at this time. Very good in the spirit of O'Shaughnessy. Hold onto it as they won't have a 2018 vintage bc of fires I believe. I had 1 Mt Veeder and 2 Howell Mountain. I will store the rest for a bit.
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11/5/2020 - jimyeni wrote: 91 Points
Napa trip November 2020; 10/31/2020-11/14/2020 (Napa, CA): Love so many vintages of this wine but the 2017 isn’t showing in the same way that I would expect. It’s more austere than typical. Drinking at the winery after about a 1.5 hour decant.
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10/31/2020 - RockyII Likes this wine: 93 Points
One hour decant and can probably use more but I’m ready for it! Deep blackberry purple in color. Big nose of sandalwood, blackberries, blueberries and cocoa. Taste is similar with with a nice punch on the entry with a dusty Rutherfordesque tannic finish. Medium acidity. Full body. Really drinking well for a young wine. Remains one of my favorite wineries. About 93.
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